Cycling Lao Cai to Bac Ha to Ha Giang

Meet in Ha Noi, and your guide make a short briefing about the tour, then take the bike store to check bikes, then take a city tour of Ha Noi. The city with more than 1000 years of history and has become Vietnam's culture and political center. Visit the Temple of Literature, Hoa Lo Prison, Lunch break in town. In the afternoon, visit the National History Museum, take a walk through the Old Quarter of Ha Noi, Watch the Water Puppet Show and have dinner before boarding the night train to Lao Cai in the evening with your guide.

The train arrives at Lao Cai Railway Station. Meet our local team with support vehicles will get your luggage and take you to the outskirt of Lao Cai. Enjoy spectacular mountain views and lush hillside orchards before a big challenge day—our biking adventure on a paved and mountainous road challenges some hills and farmland. Discover the mountain hills, meet tribes on their farmland, view breathtaking landscapes, and learn the rich ethnic culture at tribe local markets on the way to the Coc Ly market. (On Tuesday) We'll spend time seeing how Ethnic people exchange goods. Locals bring their buffaloes, cows, dogs, horses, chickens, and cates to trade with each other. Animals could be exchanged if they are of the same value. The Weekly market is open every Tuesday. Then we continue to ride on single tracks to Bao Nhai Bridge and turn off to Bac Ha town. Upon arriving at Hotel, check-in and explore the city on your own for the rest of the day.

Today, we start with a short vehicle transfer west to Lung Phin for an off-the-beaten-track mountain ride to Xin Man. the rural Dist, located right on the Vietnam & China border. Some hills have incredible picturesque landscapes between Ha Giang and Lao Cai provinces. We bike to explore one of the most remote parts- a homeland of local ethnic groups; Nung, the Flower Hmong, the Tay, and the Ha Nhi tribes. Enjoy every minute on today' ride; breathtaking view of the Hoang Su Phi terraced fields, a national heritage, and one of the most beautiful landscapes in Vietnam. The epic landscape of rice-terraced fields and the peaceful scenery had created by man and nature over thousands of years. In the after, we carry on our mountain biking adventure along a quiet road that gently climbs and follows the river to Hoang Su Phi.

Today is another great ride as an adventurous journey. We ride to smell and taste Hoang Su Phi, Dong Van karst plateau Geopark, and Mu Chai, the National Rice Terrace Heritage. We’ll ride on fascinating routes and challenge incredible passes before we ride to Ha Giang. We’ll feel that we are on top of the world. Hoang Su Phi is one of the areas of outstanding natural beauty and unspoiled traditional life. It is also the removed East-West region of Vietnam. Most of the ethnic groups are still using traditional ways of cultivating rice plants. Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark is world-famous. It is a mysterious landscape along the Chinese border- a natural combination of conical limestone peaks and deep, beautiful valleys. Mu Cang Chai- the most beautiful of rice terraces fields, and it had listed as National Heritage of Northeast Vietnam

From the hotel, we head out of town, cycling for the first 25km on a relatively flat road through terraced rice paddy fields. Passing through minority villages, we cycle the next 25km up winding roads into the vast limestone mountain range with its perpendicular rock walls, climbing 800m towards the mountain road past “Heaven Gate 1”. As we pass through mountain villages, sometimes covered by clouds, we will receive a friendly greeting from the local communities. From the pass, we can look down at amazing views, including the famous vista of the Tam Son Valley with the ‘Twin Hills, and can spy on Quan Ba town, Have lunch on the summit, and enjoy the picturesque scenery. After lunch, we set off our bike to descend to the river and ride along to Gam River until we meet another pass again. We cycle uphill for the first few km before a descent of around 10km and then relatively flat terrain for the next 10km. It’s a challenging up-and-down terrain to an altitude of 1.025m before we finally descend for the last 15km into Yen Minh. We will have the chance to see the traditional homes of the local hill tribes. The communities in this area are Chinese.

Today you’ll encounter the most mind-blowing stretch of road in Vietnam. We cycle to Dong Van,  Karst Plateau Global Geopark is located in the northeastern province of Ha Giang, a mountainous region located in the far north of Viet Nam. Most of its surface is limestone (about 60%). Its landscape is spectacular and unique, having high mountains and deep canyons. Then, we ride rolling hills and speed up gentle hills to Ma Pi Leng Pass, and the valley floor drops far below as you wind through massive peaks and canyons. The only problem may be the number of stops you feel compelled to make, as every turn is full of picture-perfect views. After lunch, we continue the day to Meo Vac is only 24 kilometers from Đồng Văn, but it will take most of your morning to reach it if you stop to appreciate the panoramic views along the way. 

A daily market in the town center of Meo Vac is home to the White Hmong, Tay, and Lo Lo hill tribes. Tribal women, well-dressed in their traditional customs, walk and carry bamboo woven baskets filled with corn and vegetables into the town for sale. It's a chance for us to explore before today's ride. We will pass people from the local minority communities along the way dressed in their vibrant tribal costumes. Stop on sideroad to visit a local market or explore the daily life of hill tribal people. After lunch in Bao Lam town, we continue to ride along the Gam River, then the Gam River, and gear up for some gentle hills, sometimes rolling hills, before descending to Bac Me township.

Bac Me is the little valley town by the Gam River, with small suspension bridges over the river and its branches, circled by mountains and peaceful landscapes. One historic site in the rural village is the French Army base and the prison sentenced Viet Minh Politicians. After we check out, we take a short drive by vehicle to Cang Bac Me and visit to learn more about the history of the old French Army Base and its prison before the day ride to Ba Be Lake starts from here.

In the morning, we'll explore the fantastic mountain countryside, jungle forests, and remote villages and enjoy the region's incredible breathtaking scenery on speeding-up winding mountain roads. In the afternoon, we continue rolling onto lush valleys, undulating along small rivers and sometimes backwater areas, passing stilt-houses villages and little markets, and the remote villages' incredible mountain scenery. The last section is to follow dirt roads to Da Vi villages, where we take 1. hour to rest on vehicles and transfer to Ba Be Lake.

We'll take a boat trip to Ba Be Lake and explore the Puong cave. Then, the cruise continues to Cam Ha Village, where you can experience the peaceful life of the Tay people before getting back on the boat that takes you upstream along the Nang River. The river has slowly eroded the karst, eventually breaking through to the other side and leaving behind a great tunnel of fascinating rock formations. Finish the boat trip, get on the support vehicle at the park gate, and head out for lunch before transferring back to Hanoi. Ha Giang bike Tours